Vol. 415 No. 1
242 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will give details of the costs incurred to date in connection with the inquiries and investigations currently under way in the matter of the Telecom affair; if he will give an estimate of the total likely costs in this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
To date, about £143,000, inclusive of VAT but net of withholding tax, has been paid to the inspector appointed by my warrant under section 14 of the Companies Act, 1990, to investigate the ownership of Chestvale Properties Ltd. and Hoddle Investments Ltd.
At this stage, it is not possible to realistically estimate the ultimate cost of the investigation, as this will be dependent on, inter alia, the progress that can be made and the results that can be achieved in the coming weeks. As the Deputy will no doubt be aware, there has been an unusual amount of litigation in relation to this inquiry.
